The Adventures of a Second Life Builder

When I first joined SL, I kept hearing words like 'prims' and 'rez' and was exposed to this new in-world language. We're so used to it now, but try and imagine how it must sound to someone in-world for the first time.

"Man, I couldn't rez anything because of the lag and then the whole sim crashed because some noob had huge prim clothing with all those damn flexis and sculpties and was particle griefing. I couldn't even TP out."

What??

None of my SL friends were builders when I first started in-world. So, it never even occurred to me that I could create furniture or a house or a really awesome spaceship (seriously, it's epic) because everyone I knew purchased everything they needed. Sandboxes were pretty much for griefers at the time and I didn't own any land (still don't), so building wasn't even convenient to experiment with, much less actually create anything worthwhile.

Then, one shiny SL midday, one of my SL friends met someone else who was in a building class. She joined and then started building some pretty cool stuff. Unfortunately, this was also about the time that I left SL (the second time) so I didn't join her. However, upon getting back into the virtual groove, I saw something that inspired me to try on my own. It was a spaceship hovering over someone's parcel. I was curious, so I cammed in and it was awesome. It was all decked out, Jules Verne style. And for the first time, I took real notice of the architecture and could identify certain shapes and how they had been manipulated to create this masterpiece I saw before me. So I tried to recreate it.

Yeah, that didn't quite go as planned. I ended up making a 100m long stainless-steel, hollowed-out cigar. But I learned a lot while doing it. So I tried again. This one looked a little better, but it still didn't look anything like what I originally had in my head. I learned that this is a good thing, since I ended up creating something unique. I thought it was looking pretty good when a stranger flew in and said he liked it, but suggested I lay it on its side. Dammit, he was right! I flipped it over and re-did the inside and I was actually pretty happy with the way it came out.

But now I have to texture the damned thing. Ugh.

Now I'm building a house. I have nowhere to put it, but that's not the point. I'm creating and it is an awesome learning experience. So now I have something else to keep me occupied while my friends are all having pixel sex or down at the club to see who is 'Best in Fuchsia' or whatever the hell the theme is that night.

That's not to say that I don't enjoy my friends' company or involve myself in their favorite activities, but my entire Second Life experience until recently had revolved around what everyone else was doing and not necessarily what I wanted to do. Not that I wanted to do anything else, you understand. I didn't know there was anything else to do! Now I am aware of so much more that is happening in-world and I'm taking full advantage of it.

My Third Second Life

When I rejoined SL for a third time, it was because an SL friend had IM'd me about a technical issue she was having in-world. She had solved it before I was able to log-in, but once there I hung around a bit. She was involved in a new club, so we went and checked it out and I ran into a lot of people I knew from my previous incarnation. I wasn't very interested in getting back into the pre-fab club scene, though, so the next time I logged in, I made a concerted effort to get involved in something else.

I wanted to do something different from every other time I had been in SL. Previously, it had pretty much been DJ one nite, hang out the next, DJ, hang out, lather, rinse, repeat. I really wanted to do something else. This is when I really discovered the event search.

I was originally looking for live music. Now, let's be honest… 80% of the live music in SL is crap. But, as someone who has been in the business, I applaud their efforts and willingness to put themselves out there. That remaining 20%, however, is awesome, and makes wading through the others to find them so worth it. I find it relaxing to sit my avatar down in the corner away from everyone else and just listen. Even though I'm not really interacting with the crowd, you really feel like part of the group. I predict at some point we are going to hear about an artist who works exclusively in SL and makes a living. There have already been bands who have done SL 'tours' and album releases, but someday we are truly going to see an SL-only music star.

Another thing I have really enjoyed while browsing through events are the symposiums and discussion groups. Linden Labs and the Second Life community involved in these events really need to do a broader job of letting people know that these things are happening in SL. Most of what you read concerning SL is about sex and things related to sex. You never hear about the language classes or the history lectures and Q&As. I even TP'd into a church service in SL once. I saw it in the events and I was curious. I didn't really know what to expect, but I was surprised at what I saw. 30 or so people, sitting in pews, some not really dressed appropriately (not that that matters) quietly listening to a preacher read from the Bible. I stuck around for about 20min until the service was over and not once did I get an IM asking me if Christ was my savior or any kind of proselytizing at all. Just one invite to join the church group and that was it. I was actually kind of impressed in how these people were using SL to organize and share in this way. The average SL user (i.e. not you and me) have no clue that any of this is going on. Hell, I kinda knew it was happening, but not to the degree I discovered when I took the time to look.

In SL, we seem to insulate ourselves. (Prad Prathivi has a great article about this over at his blog, Metaversally Speaking, although I think it is more a function of technology (site-to-site TPs, etc) than a function of psychology, but you can decide for yourself) We go to the same places to see the same people and do the same things. Occasionally, someone will get a wild hair and sim-hop, but that is sadly rare. Our virtual world can offer so much and so few are taking advantage of the promise of this world. SL is nothing without its citizens, are its citizens are nothing until they interact. It's a shame that there is so little true interaction in SL. Go, search out something that interests you. Expand your circle of friends, even if that means having a separate circle. Use this technology to better yourselves and those around you.

...and then get laid.

Second Second Life

If you're like most people, I guess, you joined Second Life, played around for a few months until one day you didn't log in… and that day became two, and then a week. Next thing you know, it's been 4 months and you can't remember your password. So, you go through the brouhaha to get it back and you log-in again.

But wait, you have to update your viewer. Once that is downloaded and installed, your heart beating with anticipation of what you will see in a place in which you haven't been in such a long time, you log-in.

Uh oh, wherever you logged out last time is something completely different than that club you were always visiting. So there you are, logging into SL for the first time in months and someone is yelling at you to get out. Everything is gray because nothing has rezzed yet and you're wondering what the hell is going on. Then all of a sudden, you see that you've materialized in someone's living room during an orgy. Oops. You scramble through your landmarks to get out of there quickly, but every LM you try just bounces you back to the poor guy's house because all of your landmarks go to places that aren't there anymore. It's about this time that someone at the 'party' gets their combat stuff attached and orbits you.

There you are, floating over who knows where with nowhere to go.

Re-log.

This time, you think ahead and type in the name of a mainland parcel (you have no idea how you remember it) and you are able to get back in without any poly-coitus interruptus. You start systematically going through your landmarks. Nope, that one doesn't work. Nope, that one is now a goth club. Nope, that one sends you to that guys house again. Oops.

Orbit.

Re-log

One of these landmarks has to still be there. Surely not everything in SL is so transitory. Let's try this one. Yeah, Hard Alley is still there! Whoohoo! When all else crumbles and changes all around you, Hard Alley is the foundation on which you can always believe. Now that you have a moment (not long though. Noob IMs asking you to touch their freenis soon start flooding in), you click on 'Search' to find a nice quiet place to relax and begin your SL experience anew. Ahh, a garden. That sounds peaceful.

TP

Finally. Now you look through your friends list. No one is online. Curious, you look at the info on several mutual groups you have with your friends to see the last time they logged on. This one hasn't been on in a month. This one hasn't been on in two months. All of a sudden, one of them logs in and you IM 'Hey, long time no see!' and they respond with 'I'm just here paying tier' and then they immediately log out. Okay then.

It's about this time that you realize your garden is really a forest and this is some sort of RP sim. You get this idea b/c there is a werewolf pushing you around. You use your only working TP and head back to Hard Alley where you are attacked by a 6ft tall penis.

You log-out.